It's a commitment and a duty.
After a day of work for Dick, and a day of relaxation with the women of the Batfam for Harley, Dick has declared a date night. Harley has her suspicions about the impromptu dinner, and she hopes they're true.
Dick had warned Bruce that this was his intention. That he had a mind to ask Harley to marry him, and tonight is the night. Dick knows that he's ready to make this commitment, but is Harley? He also has other commitments to honor.
"Harley?" Dick asked, walking into their bedroom. She was sitting in the chair putting on her shoe while simultaneously pushing Wally away as he tried to lick her arm. Clark jumped up from where he was lying by the chair and ran over to Dick. The rose lullaby box tinkled out the last bit of their song before it died down.
"Hey." Harley smiled at him. "You're not late."
"No," he smiled. "Just had to pick up a few things." The charcoal gray suit that he wore fit him well, accenting his strong shoulders and lithe waist. A narrow black tie was tied loosely around a collar with one button undone, and his hair was combed back away from his blue eyes. "Are you ready to go?"
"You look nice," she complimented him. She stood up, one hand helping her on the chair armrest, and the other on her stomach. She was in a long sleeve, knee length white lace dress with a scoop neckline, and her hair waved lightly over her shoulders. Dick stared at her for a moment, his mouth hanging slightly open, before he smiled.
"T-thank you. You look absolutely… wow. You look… incredible, Harley," he breathed, taking her hand. That's when she noticed the single red rose that he'd been holding in his other hand, and he blushed as he handed it to her.
"It's beautiful." She pulled him down to kiss her. "Thank you," she whispered. Dick beamed at her, and then he squeezed her hand.
"Come on, we'll miss our reservations," he laughed, leading her to the front door. He turned around and looked at his dogs. "You two keep an eye on the place and don't pee. That will kill the mood when we get back if I have to make Harley clean up your mess."
The dogs whined and wagged their tails, and Dick nodded before locking the door behind him. He opened Harley's car door for her and then got into the drivers seat.
"So where are we going?" Harley asked, buckling her seatbelt, she adjusted it around her swollen belly. "I'm supposed to gather as many details to share with Barbara." She laughed.
"Why don't you livetweet it while you're at it," he smiled, pulling out of the driveway. "We're going to some ridiculously fancy restaurant that Bruce recommended."
"Does it have an unpronounceable name and snooty waiters? Because I'm game."
"Most definitely," Dick nodded, and then bit his lip. "I'm really sorry, but I need to stop at the Circus. I forgot to do something, and it'd just be really bad if it didn't get done today. Just some paperwork," he said as he parked in front of the massive tent. He unbuckled his belt. "You can come, if you'd like. I've got to finish the paperwork and then fax it… it might take a while. I'm really sorry again. Hopefully we won't be late..."
"Sure." Harley unbuckled her seatbelt. "I promised Tulio I'd show him how to throw playing cards, and I haven't seen Yvette in ages."
"Yeah, they've been wondering about you," Dick replied, walking with her towards the tent. Harley gasped when Dick pulled back the flap. A spotlight shone into the center ring where a table was draped with a flowing white tablecloth, and set with glittering china and crystal glasses. A single little candle burned as a centerpiece, and more flickered in delicate paper lanterns hanging from the trapeze safety net. Dick bit his lip and grinned in the soft lighting. Another rose was laid on the table's surface.
"You sneaky bastard." Harley elbowed him playfully. Dick laughed.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't do this," he mocked innocently, shaking his head. He led her over to the table and pushed her chair in for her when she sat down, taking a seat across from her. Dick's eyes shone in the candlelight.
"It's lovely," Harley told him, looking around. She pushed her glasses up her nose. He nodded, his gaze still fixed on her.
"Well going out in public would still be a bit risky. Besides," he pulled out a plastic, store bought bottle of grape juice and suavely poured some into her wine glass, "I thought this would be more… romantic, I guess." Harley laughed.
"I know. And the reviews I've heard about this place are great." She took a sip of her 'wine'. Dick put the bottle back at his feet so it wasn't in the way on the table, and Tulio scampered up with a fake moustache drawn on his upper lip.
"My name is Tulio Antonio Heraldo the third, and I'll be your server tonight," he sniffed. "I would ask you what you want to eat, but Robin's already chosen the menu. Mai will bring your meal, can I interest you in anything else, Ms. Harley?" He bowed dramatically, and Dick rubbed his temples. Harley laughed.
"Um, no, Mr. Heraldo," she said in mock seriousness. "I think we're good here. Perhaps one of your other tables needs something?"
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss," Tulio said, putting his arms behind his back. "Our other tables are clientless this evening." Harley jumped as the circus band started playing quietly in their stands. Dick looked down, smiling.
"Wait, did you cancel a whole show tonight to do this?" Harley asked.
"No, of course not," he lied. Mai skipped over wearing a ringmaster's suit, putting plates of wings on each of their settings.
"Are these… Joe's?" she cried, smiling at him. Dick smiled sheepishly in return, nodding, his blue eyes flicking up to look at her from under his dark hair.
"Yes. I tried to book a fancy restaurant, but all the best were full. So grape juice, wings, and cheesecake is what I came up with. Alfred helped me make the cheesecake."
Above them, Benitri and Victor had begun their trapeze show, their glittering costumes catching the light.
"Thank you." Harley leaned across the table and gave him a kiss. "This is perfect." She said louder, "But I don't know about that waiter."
"Hey!" Tulio whined from where he was eavesdropping. Dick couldn't stop his cheeks from flushing as he bit his lip and smiled again. Always smiling; that stupid, gorgeous grin.
"I just wanted to do something nice. We hadn't really been doing anything together but sitting on the couch and watching Netflix or relaxing- I wanted to do something special. I wanted you to get all dressed up and to feel as beautiful as I think you are every day."
"You're looking pretty handsome yourself," Harley commented. "But seriously, thank you. This is amazing." She smiled again; she couldn't stop. The whole thing was more beautiful than she ever could have imagined. She absentmindedly put a hand on her stomach, still smiling.
"Well when you have a circus, why not use it?" Dick asked, looking up at Benitri flipping through the air. He couldn't help admiring the boy's form. His gaze returned to Harley, and he took his hand out of his pocket, taking a bite of a wing. "So what did you girls talk about all day?" he asked, laughing. "How is Barbara?"
"She's good. A little sad and lonely, but I think we'll get her cheered up." Harley nibbled at a wing. "She's the maid of honor, we gossiped about Jay and Ivy, oh, and talk to Tim. That boy needs to ask Stephanie out. ASAP."
"No, that needs to not happen," Dick looked at her. "That can only end badly. Again. They're good together, but if they break up we all will be caught in the crossfire and no thank you."
"Oh come on!" Harley rolled her eyes. "First off, they were adorable together and still are. Second, you don't know it will end badly." She ticked it off on her fingers. "Third, pretty sure you got mad when people said that about us. And bonus round for four, they both really like each other. Tim is just nervous."
"Tim is just nervous that he will screw it up again."
"Well, he can waste his time and happiness being nervous, or you can talk to him." Harley grinned at him, taking a sip of her grape juice.
"What makes you think that I can convince him of anything?" Dick asked, smiling at her, his eyes still shining. Or maybe that was the candlelight. Benitri let out a whoop as he flipped through the air, and the band still played softly in the background.
"Because I promised Steph, and you're not going to make me a liar."
"Well you want me to tell Tim to ask Steph out, convince him that that is a good idea, and you're not going to make me a liar." he retorted, finishing his wings.
"What? You don't think they're a cute couple?" Harley pried, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
"I don't know," Dick shrugged. "Bruce doesn't really condone dating within the 'family'." He thought for a moment and laughed.
"You and Barbara ruined it for the rest of them didn't you?"
"Not at all, I don't think, anyway…" he blushed again.
"Uh huh. So the Boy Wonders get distracted every time a Batgirl comes around?"
"I don't know," he laughed, running a hand through his hair.
"Just admit I'm right about everything," Harley told him, nodding. She laughed to herself.
"You are always right. But, heh, can we please s-stop talking about Barbara?" he laughed, sipping his grape juice.
"Well since you asked so nicely, we can talk about Bruce and Selina." Harley grinned at him. Dick tried to keep from frowning, taking his hand out of his pocket as Tulio took their empty plates, and Mai brought heaping slices of cheesecake. "Fine." Harley laughed. "What do you want to talk about if you're going to be particular about it?"
"I just don't want to talk about all of their relationships," he shrugged. "We can talk about…" he trailed off, his light eyes fixed on her.
"Oh don't leave me in suspense," Harley teased. Dick blinked.
"I… what?"
"What is this great topic you're going to come up with?" Harley leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her laced fingers. Her glasses glared in the spotlight.
"I just wanted to talk about… what? Stop distracting me!" he cried, running his hand through his hair again. He loosened his tie nervously and then looked at her.
"You're blushing." Harley laughed, touching his cheek. "What is it? Don't tell me you're pregnant."
"No, it's-" he laughed when he actually registered what she said. He breathed deeply, smiling at her lovingly. "I've just got some things that I wanted to get off my chest. We've had so much… coming to this point, we've had so much hardship. I'm not going to say 'the moment I met you', because to be honest the moment I met you, I just thought you were a pretty doctor that was flirting me up-" Harley giggled, and Dick smiled, a nervous laugh escaping his lips- "but in that first week we were together, I really fell hard. I felt so connected to you- I felt… I felt like you had experienced pain like I had, like you were still going through it, but I never could have anticipated just how much I was getting myself into. Through everything that has changed, through the reveal of our identities, through your deaths-"
"-sorry again about that."
"No, it's okay, I'm working my way to being alright. But… um…" Dick trailed off again, staring at her; seemingly lost in thought again. Her hair fell over her shoulder as she looked at him expectantly, and his cheeks flushed. Dick cleared his throat. He couldn't keep himself from being distracted by her gorgeous eyes and her soft lips in the low light. He blinked. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart, I just got distracted." He cleared his throat, his hand slipping into his pocket again. "When I met you, I sensed your pain. I didn't know what it was or who had caused it, but I just felt this overwhelming need to fix it. I wanted to help you. I wanted to be your escape from whatever was hurting you, I wanted to save you. A lot has changed, including my awareness of exactly how much pain you were going through- but my feelings still remain the same. I want to save you. And I don't mean that in a 'Nightwing' way, I mean that in a way that has 'us' in it. Us walking the dogs, us taking care of our daughter; probably me taking out the garbage…" Harley laughed. "I want to save you," Dick smiled, standing up and tugging off a piece of the safety net. He sat and tied it around her slender finger, turning her soft hand over in his.
"I'll always be here to catch you," he whispered. "Whenever you fall, I'll be there. Whether it's to catch you, or to enjoy the rush with you; I've fallen too." He looked at her, and she was stunned by the seriousness, the emotion in his eyes. "And what a rush. Falling is just like flying. Harley…" he trailed off, and she was afraid he was going to lose his thought again; she squeezed his hand to encourage him, her heart fluttering. "Everything about 'us' feels so right. I feel so calm with you, so-" he smiled aside, as if remembering an old friend- "whelmed. I know we're young, but I also know that I love you more than I can say. More than this ridiculously long rambling statement can explain, so Harley..." He took his hand out of his pocket one last time, clutching the ring in his shaking fingers under the table. Harley felt like her heart was in her throat, and she waited with bated breath.
He froze. He could barely breathe as the trapeze spotlight flashed across the shadows over Harley's shoulder. Batman was standing there, his head bent down as he looked gravely on. Dick didn't move.
"Harley, I…" Dick wanted to continue. With everything he had, he wanted to finish it. His cheeks flushed redder, and he looked away, slowly replacing the ring in his pocket. He stood, his head hung; eyes shadowed by his dark hair. "Excuse me," he breathed, walking away from the table towards Batman. Harley turned to see where he was going, spotting Batman in the shadows. Dick stopped in front of him and just stared, his jaw set forward in anger and his hands curling into fists at his sides. "Why."
"I didn't mean… Dick, this wasn't… I didn't think that…" Batman cleared his throat. "The missing Joker victims have turned up."
"Me. You had to pick me. You couldn't have called Jason or Tim or Cassandra or Stephanie or Damian or Kathy or Selina or even Gordon. I bet Barbara is itching to get out, hell, call Superman for all I care!" he shouted, his voice growing more furious as he fought to keep it hushed. "But no."
"I just thought you'd want to get intel on the Joker," Batman hissed. Dick could feel the anger rising in his chest, causing his hands to tremble.
"You could have left me a message. Next time my phone is off, take the fucking hint, Bruce," he snapped.
"I just assumed you were working, and wouldn't mind this as an interruption. I didn't realize that…"
"That what, Bruce? Say it, just so I know that you understand what you're interrupting." Dick still glared at him, crossing his arms.
"I can go handle this by myself," he told Dick. "You can stay here and," he waved toward where Harley was listening to them, "do what you have to."
"You are such an ass, Bruce. You know what I have to do, and you know what I want to do." Dick ran both of his hands through his hair. Without another word, he turned and walked slowly back to the table. He looked at Harley, at a loss. "I… this… this wasn't supposed to happen," he breathed. "Harley, I'm so sorry."
"Hey," she grabbed his hand. "It's okay." She glanced over at Batman before ignoring him. "Reminds me of when we were first dating." She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. "That disapproving look of his makes me feel like you should be calling me Lee."
Dick laughed a little, looking down. "I just wanted this time to be different." He closed his eyes. He felt Harley's hand touch his cheek, her fingers trailing gently along his jaw.
"It was. Tonight was perfect." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Up until we were interrupted," she whispered. Dick nodded.
"I'll… I'll take you home, then I have to…" he glanced over at Batman. He couldn't stop the anger welling in his throat again. He grabbed Harley's hand and started walking toward the tent flap. The band had stopped playing, and everyone was watching them leave. Harley waved to Mai.
"You know, you don't have to do anything." She moved closer to him as they walked, looping her arm through his .
"I have to help Batman. It's my…" he trailed off. He didn't want to say job, but he knew that it was. In his mind, he didn't have a choice, and Harley could tell.
"I can run communications tonight. Be on the line so you have someone to talk to besides him?" she offered.
"No," Dick said determinedly, helping her into the car and getting into the drivers seat. He started the engine. The ring was heavy in his pocket, and his anger flared again.
"Are you sure?" Harley put her hand on his knee. "It's not like I have anything going on."
"I'm sure." Dick took a deep breath as he pulled into the garage. "You don't have to, I'm sure we won't do much, and if worst comes to worst, we'll call you. Get some rest," Dick helped her out of the car, and they went into the dark kitchen. Dick set his keys on the counter, his shoulders slumped.
"Don't stay out too late." Harley stood behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I'll miss you."
"I'll be back soon, honey," he turned his head to kiss her over his shoulder. "Just have to go stop some bad guys."
"I think maybe I should be worried when you go to do that. You might bring another one like me home."
"I don't think there is anyone like you," Dick replied, stroking her cheek. He looked down and then walked downstairs to the basement. A moment later he returned, wearing his Nightwing uniform. The red stripe stretched across his strong chest stood out in the dark. Harley walked over to him and ran her hands across the stripe.
"You know I'm going to tell you to be safe," she said, looking at her hands.
"And you know that I'll come home to you, one way or another," he replied.
"I love you." She glanced up into his eyes.
"I love you more," he smiled reassuringly, stroking her cheek. "You really look incredible, Harles."
"Stop sucking up." She nudged him with her shoulder. "And leave so you can come back."
Dick kissed her one last time before heading out into the dark. He presses his comm into his ear. "Nightwing to the Batcave. Signing on."